RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- Let me just come out and say it: pornography is a problem that impacts the mission field. In our #MeToo era, we're used to seeing web articles speaking of the dangers of pornography. We hear -- and it is most certainly true -- that pornography is both the result of and fuel for the objectification of humanity.

Pornography makes another human less like a person and more like a snack. And yet, so often our recent reminders on the internet about the dangers of, well, the internet and other peddlers of this smut focus on that young man alone in his bedroom late at night. However, the grip of pornography reaches into more than ... Read More

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Churches and parents must model and emphasize a godly respect for human sexuality to protect children from the pervasive and savvy culture of pornography, speakers in a religious webinar addressing the subject said Tuesday (Nov. 7.)

No longer adequate are the internet filters parents have relied on to prevent exposure to pornography, said Dean Inserra, lead pastor of City Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in Tallahassee, Fla. He was the main speaker in the webinar hosted by the interfaith Religious Alliance Against Pornography (RAAP). Read More

NASHVILLE (BP) -- How to counter teen pornography use within faith communities is the subject of a webinar to be hosted twice in November by the Religious Alliance Against Pornography.

Among the webinar's presenters is Dean Inserra, pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, Fla. At least two Southern Baptists serve on the alliance's advisory board: K. Marshall Williams, pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church in Philadelphia, and Dan Darling, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission's vice president for communications. Read More

NASHVILLE (BP) -- At least five states have officially declared pornography a public health crisis or harmful to the public, and at least one other is considering a similar measure, according to bill updates filed on state legislature websites.

A resolution passed by the Tennessee Legislature declaring pornography a public health hazard was awaiting Gov. Bill Haslam's signature April 21. Days earlier, Tennessee became the fourth state to adopt such a resolution, joining Utah, South Dakota and Arkansas. Read More

NASHVILLE (BP) -- The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) has released its 2017 Dirty Dozen List of companies most responsible for promoting pornography and sex crimes among adults and children in homes, libraries, hotels and other places.

Amazon, the American Library Association (ALA), Amnesty International, Backpage.com, Cosmopolitan magazine, HBO, Snapchat and YouTube are repeats on the 2017 list, with the ALA and Cosmopolitan making the list the past five consecutive years. Comcast, EBSCO Information Services, Roku and Twitter are newcomers. Read More

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Tennessee and Virginia would become the latest states in the U.S. to declare pornography a public health hazard under resolutions introduced in the states' legislatures.

Tennessee Senate Joint Resolution 35, which was filed in the state Senate Tuesday (Jan. 24), urges the state to "recognize pornography as a public health hazard leading to a broad spectrum of individual and public health impacts and societal harms." The resolution acknowledges the need for "education, prevention, research, and policy change at the community and societal level in order to address the epidemic" harming the state and nation. Read More

NASHVILLE (BP) -- The McDonald's corporation's decision to filter pornography from Wi-Fi at its U.S. restaurants has been called "brave and bold" by the leader of Southern Baptists' anti-pornography campaign.

"I applaud McDonald's for this brave and bold step of protecting people, especially children, from the evil that hovers over every place that offers Wi-Fi," Jay Dennis, co-sponsor of the Join One Million Men Campaign, told Baptist Press in written comments. "McDonald's wisely understood and acted upon the fact that ... Read More

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BP) -- A resolution declaring pornography a public health crisis landed on Utah Gov. Gary Herbert's desk in mid-March after unanimously passing the state House and Senate.

The bill, Senate Concurrent Resolution 9 (SCR9), marks the first time a state has called pornography a "public health crisis," language more often used for smoking, drunk driving, and epidemics like Ebola. Although the non-binding resolution does not change law, experts

ay the bill is part of a concerted effort to start framing the issue as not merely a "moral" ... Read More

Formed in 1946 by the Southern Baptist Convention, and supported with Cooperative Program funds, Baptist Press (BP) is a daily (M-F) international news wire service. Operating from a central bureau in Nashville, Tenn., BP works with four partnering bureaus (Richmond, Va.; Atlanta, Ga.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Washington, D.C.), as well as with a large network of contributing writers, photographers and editorial providers, to produce BP News.